Cryptography (Encryption) (continued)
Symmetric encryption is when the same private key is used to encrypt and decrypt the message- both the sender and the receiver would need to have agreed upon the key beforehand in order to crack the message.
Advantages: Used for sending large amounts of data, is straightforward, simple, efficient, and faster than asymmetric encryption.
Disadvantages: If the key is lost or compromised, the data would be at risk- it can also be hard to coordinate the sending and receiving of data when more parties are involved. Examples of where symmetric encryption include validations, payments, and data storage.
Asymmetric encryption is when two different keys are used to encrypt and decrypt the data. The public key, which everyone has access to, is used to encrypt the message. However, only the private key can decrypt that message.
Advantages: Increased security, keys can be verified much easier, good for transmitting classified information.
Disadvantages: Asymmetric encryption is slower than symmetric encryption, and is also more complex- it is also hard to encrypt large amounts of data with this method.
Ex. Sharing data over the internet (HTTPS [HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure]), verifying digital signatures, email, communication. Don't worry, we'll briefly go over HTTPS on the next page.
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